


100 Ways They Fell in Love

by RunWithWolves



Series: 30 Days of Cupcake [23]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 03:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8270854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunWithWolves/pseuds/RunWithWolves
Summary: Love is not made in one grand gesture but is built piece by piece in a series of moments. When Carmilla burst into the dormroom, Laura never expected it to turn into love. But even Laura can't stay in denial forever.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I always forget how much longer writing canon stuff takes. I wanted to make this all the season which was just ridiculous. So here's the season 1 version. With act 3 coming tomorrow, i needed the nostalgia bomb.

1.

The intruder burst through the door and Laura spun around to face her, visions of monsters or missing roommates flashing through her head. 

All the stranger said was, “hey.”

Falling in love has never required profound origins, rather, it makes the simplest origins profound.

2.

So all Laura said was, “Um, excuse me, but who the hell are you?”

The stranger threw her stuff on the bed as though everything in the room was already hers. A swagger of confidence packed into leather pants. Jaw tightening, Laura stared at her and threw her arms out, demanding an explanation.

She got a name, “Carmilla. I’m your new roommate sweetheart.”

Love is spelled with 8 letters. Some days, Laura would wonder if their order was significant. 

3\. 

Love cannot be born in complacency and within thirty seconds of meeting each other, Carmilla has already brought Laura to her feet. One is full of righteous anger, the other’s face bears nothing but apathy. 

Every love story opens with the thing that may destroy it.

4.

With Carmilla holding a stolen shirt in her hands and a stolen twenty in her pocket, Laura is already making her declarations.

“You are not my new roommate.”

One day, many days, she’ll give anything for Carmilla to be even just be her roommate again. She will find holes where the other girl once lived. 

5.

Even in her righteous fury, Laura is staring at Carmilla’s tight leather pants. 

Love has eyes.

6\. 

Laura huffs off to sink back into her computer chair and Carmilla laughs where she thinks no-one can see. 

When was the last time she let herself chuckle?

7\. 

The building blocks of love are never quite what they’re expected to be. There is a brick made of the way Carmilla never cleans. There is a brick made of the way she steal clothes. There is a brick made of the way the she takes other girls to Laura’s bed. 

Because what Laura doesn’t know yet is that acts are agitation of the best kindest Carmilla can show.

Carmilla tries to save her from even worse monsters. 

Laura refuses to leave.

Love is funny that way.

8.

Love is picking your battles. Not the cleaning or the sleeping or the stealing. 

Laura tells everyone that Carmilla has raging cold sores. 

The chosen battle is kissing other girls. 

9\. 

Sometimes, love needs a little help. With blood in her cereal, Laura scrunches her face and says, “We need to get rid of Carmilla.” She glares down at the destroyed sugar food as though she could use her gaze to blow it up.

“Well,” Perry cuts in, “Don’t you think that you should talk to her first? After a lot of problems are solved by good communication.”

After all, love is not easy.

10.

Love strips down to her bra.

Love stares at bare backs and black bra straps. 

When love doesn’t have a chance to even get through the door, sometimes it will try and take a quick detour through the lust peephole. Try and add a crack. Love will take what it can get.

11\. 

Sometimes, Laura loses her battles. When Carmilla finds out that Laura started the rumour about her having cold sores, she doesn’t seem at all upset.

“Carmy-cold sore” Laura says.

Carmilla doesn’t seem to be having a problem finding girls despite the rumours. 

Love looks frustrated and scrunches her nose. 

12.

Love can be a mirror.

Carmilla rolls her eyes, “Because I’m sure if you stay pure of heart and try your very best, that will make a difference.”

“Well,” Laura says without bothering to even look at Carmilla, “it’s better than lounging around all day and pretending to be cool and disaffected when really you’re just miserable and alone.”

Carmilla once believed in being pure of heart. 

13.

Pausing for just a moment, the anger begins to rise in Carmilla’s voice, “And do you actually think you’re doing a lick of good? Do you know anything you didn’t know yesterday?” She walks closer, drawn in like a moth to a flame of everything she once was. “You’re a child,” Carmilla continues, “And you understand nothing. Not about life.Not about this place. And definitely not what it takes-” She cuts herself off.

Anger is too close to feeling. 

It has been said that love and anger are two sides of the same coin.

When was the last time Carmilla got truly angry?

Carmilla retreats, leaving Laura trying to ignore her as Carmilla says, “You know what, the sooner you stop playing Miss Lois Lane the better off you’ll be.”

Carmilla still tries to save her from even worse monsters. 

14.

Laura refuses to listen.

Love is funny that way.

15.

Carmilla is left sitting alone on her bed, mouth slightly open, as Laura’s words linger in the room even after Laura has long since vanished in a rush of anger.

“Even you deserve better.”

Sometimes. Love has a pin pointable beginning when the splinter in the door to your heart turns into a crack.

Sometimes. Love smacks you in the face.

“Even you deserve better”

Sometimes. Love says something you never thought you’d hear.

16\. 

Laura walks home from the mandatory school-wide meeting with a beautiful lit TA walking beside her and happily talking to her about her plans. She can feel Carmilla lurking in the shadows behind her but she chooses to ignore it. After all, Danny is gorgeous and why should Laura care about Carmilla?

Still, she notices.

17.

Love glares at the back of the head of gorgeous lit TAs.

18.

“What the frilly hell is this?” Carmilla demands, rushing into the room to find Kirsch and Will standing between Laura and the only exit. “Why did you let these lackwits in?”

Laura isn’t taking the blame for this one, “Let? What part of this looks like let?”

So Carmilla forcibly extracts them from the room.

It has nothing to do with the fact that Will is a murderous vampire and she might be worried. 

Love gets rids of the monsters without breaking the clavicle of the innocent.

Just a little bruising.And a bite or two.

Just to take a nip.

19.

Love thinks that Laura’s bunched up angry face is adorable.

20\. 

“You said you wanted them gone,” Carmilla said.

Laura just stares at her, “Gone. Not hemorrhaging.”

Well, love tried.

21.

Love is not jealous. It just sits on the bed and pretends to read a book while Laura and the gorgeous lit TA engage in a non-subtle round of flirting.

Love doesn’t make Carmilla leave despite the annoyance of the gorgeous lit TA. 

22\. 

Carmilla stretches and rolls out of bed at the early hour of 5pm. She quickly hides her frown at the fact that Laura is still in the room, “What are you doing here?” she asks, “Aren’t you usually in the middle of an 18 hour work day?”

Laura hardly looks up, too focused on her computer. 

After weeks of yelling, that’s enough to get Carmilla’s attention as she grabs Laura’s mug and looks at her options. Settling on stealing some of Laura’s hot chocolate, she almost sounds proud as she asks, “Wait? Are you skipping class?”

“I’m sick,” Laura says and grabs another cookie. 

That gets a second look, “Yeah,” Carmilla agrees, “You do look like crap.”

She almost walks out but then looks down at her mug and then at Laura. 

She leaves the hot chocolate behind.

23.

Later, Carmilla comes back in the room with her head hung low and her mother’s voice in her ears. As soon as the audience leaves the room, she throws a book against the wall in frustration. 

Laura is not an audience. 

And when Carmilla expects her to crow at Carmilla being brought low, instead, Laura offers words of understanding. They are quickly said and with a naive-edge that should be annoying.

But it isn’t. 

Laura holds up a wastebasket and Carmilla throws her tissue away. 

24\. 

Carmilla gives her first small smile. Love is having a moment. 

The ginger lit TA walks in. 

Oh come on.

25\. 

Carmilla has to be anywhere but here. 

Laura defends her callous attitude.

Love breathes a sigh of relief.

26\. 

Until the door is slammed in love’s face. 

Carmilla is at every party. In every photo. Beside every missing girl. 

The best love can do is linger in the background, hoping that it will not die as Laura digs deeper. Prays Laura will dig deeper to see the truth. Laura doesn’t stop digging and love wonders if perhaps there is a slowly forming crack in the door around her heart. 

27.

Carmilla calls Laura, Danny’s girlfriend but Laura claims that she isn’t dating Danny.

Probably.

Carmilla smiles. 

She tells herself it’s at Laura’s naivety. 

28.

The smile vanishes as soon as Laura mentions that she’s been having bad dreams. Turning to face Laura, Carmilla digs deeper while trying to seem like she doesn’t care.

“But just a dream, no reason for all of this twitchiness,” Carmilla says.

Laura twitches.

29\. 

Carmilla almost walks out.

She stops.

Turns.

Love offers to get something to help Laura sleep.

30\. 

Carmilla Karnstein isn’t ready for love. 

The words rush out, “Well, I just don’t want you going crazy and torching all of my stuff while I sleep.” She rushes out of the room behind them.

Love is left conflicted.

How dare Carmilla be a halfway decent human being?

31.

Love has been watching for hours and hours as Carmilla burns records, lifts heavy bags, and steals food. 

One day, this information will seem precious. One day, Laura will laugh at the way she learned about love. 

32.

Love is still being a terrible roommate.

Despite the chewing out from The Dean.

Carmilla is still trying to drive Laura away from bigger monsters.

33\. 

When Carmilla slinks back in the door, Laura is still twitching as she rushes to shut down her computer before Carmilla can see what she’s been up to. 

In her hand is a dried bat wing to help with the bad dreams. 

Which love will grant is a little weird.

Romance isn’t always made of roses. 

34.

Romance isn’t made of dramatic declarations of poetry either. 

“It’s a charm or whatever,” Carmilla says. 

“You’re annoying,” Carmilla says.

“If you burn out from sleep deprivation then they’ll probably replace you with someone worse,” Carmilla says. 

“The devil you know, you know?” Carmilla says. 

Today, Laura doesn’t know. Her mouth just hangs open with the smallest upturn on the edges of her lips. 

One day, Laura will look at a camera and know exactly what Carmilla means. One day, all Laura will be able to say is, “You know.”

35.

Love can’t lose her air of mystery.

36\. 

Love blinks and then grins at the camera, her bat-charm clad wrist dangling in the air.

“Was she just… was she… flirting?” Laura stammers between her smile. 

Love facepalms. 

It’s trying.

37\. 

Love had no idea that a vampire was involved. 

This could put a damper on its plans as Laura freaks out that she’s the next victim. 

Two steps forward. One step back. 

The broody one is better at this. 

38\. 

Laura prepares to seduce the evil vampire and tries to pretend that Carmilla doesn’t affect her at all.

39.

When Laura wakes up from a nightmare in a pitch black room, her breath running ragged with fear, she finds that she’s not alone. The light flicks on and she sees Carmilla at the window. Watching. Waiting. Dreaming. 

This shouldn’t be a comfort.

And yet.

40.

Laura asks Carmilla to come to a party with her. She asks as friends with a promise of stars. She asks with false intentions and traps in mind. 

Unaware that all Carmilla has ever wanted in all her 300 years is a friend. 

Love doesn’t know not to get excited. 

41.

Laura does.

Yet she still scampers off to bed with a high pitched voice and a smile on her lips. 

Perhaps it’s not all about traps.

42\. 

Love is stunned silent at corsets and leather pants. 

Love still has eyes, you know.

43\. 

Carmilla brought champagne stolen from her mother’s wine cellar. The kind of drink that makes her feel like a girl again as she tells Laura they served it at the first party, Carmilla ever attended.

Laura doesn’t know it was Carmilla’s 18th birthday.

Laura doesn’t know it was the place Carmilla was murdered.

One day, Laura will drink champagne and cry.

For now, love is just a girl trying not to get distracted by her broody roommate speaking of poetry, pouring champagne, and wearing leather pants. 

44\. 

Carmilla is upset that Laura isn’t wearing her charm. 

Love is worried.

There are bigger monsters than vampires. 

45\. 

Yet love is somewhat self aware. 

“What am I doing,” Carmilla asks as she runs her fingers through Laura’s hair, “I should know better but there’s something about you.” Her voice rasps in a way that has Laura’s mouth falling open, a deep breath escaping. 

The smallest smile that she forces down. 

Carmilla doesn’t stop, even though she knows she should. Laura doesn’t stop her, even though she knows she should. 

Love is having a moment. 

Perhaps, if given one moment more, love might have kissed.

46\. 

Laura doesn’t know that there are bigger monsters than vampires. So the trap springs and Carmilla finds herself tied to a chair as Laura stands over her and gloats. 

Vampires cannot cry.

Love can.

All Carmilla wanted was a friend. Love thought she deserved more and now love finds the door to Carmilla’s heart slammed back in it’s face. Nothing but the smallest crack to look through as the heart turns heard again.

Carmilla Karnstein falls fast and loves hard. 

Love can only hope that this will be true twice.

47\. 

Carmilla calls them all idiots.

48.

All Laura wants is for Carmilla to drink the blood.

As she watches Carmilla slowly turn paler and paler as the days pass, her heart scrunches in a way she hadn’t expected. 

But Carmilla refuses and just turns paler.

49.

Love will not let Carmilla die and Laura forces the blood down Carmilla’s throat as her panicked words hang in the air. 

“Oh thank god,” Laura says as the seizures stop. 

She does not know why she’s thankful for the life of a vampire. One day, the life of a vampire will be worth burning the world down for. 

Love starts small.

50\. 

“Cause the other night,” Laura says, “It sure looked like you were trying to eat me.”

Carmilla meets her gaze for the first time, hurt in her ragged throat, “Wait. You thought that was me trying to eat you?”

“Well, if you weren’t trying to eat me,” Laura shrugs, “then what were you- oh.”

Recognition dawns on Laura’s face as humiliation falls across Carmilla’s. She bites her lip and closes her eyes as an unexpected smile tries to poke it’s way out from Laura.

“So when you were hitting on me, you were actually hitting on me?” Laura could not sound more pleased if she tried.

Carmilla still will not look up, “Yes. And you were luring me into a trap.”

Laura gives up on fighting her smile and full on grins. 

Love pokes her. Why so happy, Hollis?

She shushes it. 

At least they’re communicating. Love will take what it can get. 

The door to Carmilla’s heart swings open slightly as she confesses to hitting on Laura and then asks to be staked. 

51\. 

Love changes the topic.

52\. 

Carmilla talks. She shares backstory and murder and hopes and dreams and dead girlfriends. 

Words she has no shared in centuries. 

53.

Laura puts down the sock puppets.

54\. 

Laura believes her.

Love has to stay tied up though.

Sigh.

Still, Laura makes sure that blood is never out of reach. Granted duct taping a cup to Carmilla’s chest wasn’t the best plan but baby steps. 

55\. 

There are bigger monsters than Carmilla but when Laura punches Will in the neck, Carmilla still finds it in herself to chuckle.

However, the chuckles die as Will emerges from the bathroom with Laura caught firmly in his grasp. His fangs hover over her neck in a way that Laura could never escape on her own. 

So Carmilla is given a choice.

The second Will starts to move, she doesn’t even hesitate. 

Carmilla punches the other vampire in the nose. 

56.

In moments of adrenaline, we do not rely on logic but follow our instincts. 

Rather than run for the open door, Laura leaps behind Carmilla for protection. 

Love isn’t exactly logical.

57\. 

Carmilla makes another choice.

Laura will always pretend that, for a split second, she didn’t think Carmilla was going to kiss her. 

Love will learn that Laura is good at denial.

Instead, Carmilla’s fangs sink into her neck for fresh blood and love can only be thankful that Carmilla doesn’t come anywhere near killing her.

58.

Carmilla comes back.

59.

“So coincidentally, my best chance is to stay here and figure out a way to justify protecting you?” Carmilla says and pauses from where she’s packing her bag.

“Funny how that works out,” Laura says.

When Laura makes a weak case to convince her to stay, Carmilla takes it. 

As though she was simply waiting for Laura to give her a reason. Any reason.

60.

Love is angry.

And yet. 

61.

Carmilla asks what wrong and Laura almost doesn’t answer her. 

Almost.

“I think I failed my lit midterm,” Laura says.

Carmilla shrugs, “Big deal. Aren’t you practically dating your lit TA?”

Again, Laura denies the dating while reminding Carmilla that changing a grade is unethical.

“Fine,” Carmilla says, “But if I was your TA then you wouldn’t even have to ask.”

Laura tries not to look flattered. 

It’s a little unethical but love will consider this gesture less creepy than a bat wing and call it a win.

62.

The bat wing is creepy but Laura puts it back on because Carmilla tells her too.

63\. 

When Carmilla says that the charm will “keep away vampires,” all Laura says is “that’s probably good.”

Probably.

64.

Carmilla is sarcastic. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Except this time Laura laughs. 

65.

Laura and Laf continue trying to drag information from Carmilla about the missing girls. 

Carmilla continues trying to steer them away.

There are bigger monsters than vampires. 

66.

Danny bursts into the room to defend Laura and Carmilla grabs her by the neck before she can move. Her hands tremble asl takes a moment to remind everyone that she was ambushed, trapped, and starved for weeks. 

But she lets go when Laura asks.

One day, Carmilla will find herself trapped in Danny’s super strong arms and wonder if Danny can even remember all the days that Carmilla didn’t kill her. 

One day, Carmilla will find that she doesn’t regret killing Danny Lawrence.

One day, Carmilla will find herself feeling sorry for the girl she almost kills.

But the first time, Carmilla only lets go because Laura asks.

67.

Laura has said a dozen times that she isn’t dating Danny but somehow Danny never got the memo. Carmilla sits on the bed next door and listens as Laura squashes any chance of dating Danny. She watches as Laura’s voice trembles. She watches as Laura Hollis breaks up with a girl she was never actually dating. 

She wonders if she would ever be able to survive breaking up with Laura.

One day, she will find out.

One day, she will break harder than she thought she could. 

One day, Carmilla will learn that broken hearts don’t mean that love goes away.

Today, Laura looks at her. Today Carmilla just takes notes and prays it never happens.

Love is hope. Carmilla can hardly remember hoping.

68.

Danny asks if Laura is saying everything because of Carmilla. A proposed romance left unsaid on her tongue. 

Laura says no. 

Carmilla looks down. 

69.

Laura just broke up with danny and all Carmilla can say is, “Smooth sundance, smooth.”

“You suck,” Laura replies.

Carmilla laughs in a way that’s nothing but agreement. 

Yet, moments later when a small explosion sounds, Carmilla is rushing to push Laura away from the window.

Love may not be the most sensitive. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t care. 

70.

Love brings a TARDIS mug full of hot cocoa.

71.

Love is made of banter and fond smiles. 

Laura smirks and says, “They saw you save me.”

“I was just saying myself from the spores,” Carmilla says.

Love just smiles again.

72.

Another nightmare. Another bad dream. Another moment of Laura tossing and turning with sleepy panic on her lips. 

For the first time there is a reply.

“Laura. Laura. Laura.” Carmilla rushes across the room and wakes her. A hand cradled on the back of Laura’s head and a hand on her arm. The lightest touch. The softest brush.

Carmilla doesn’t let go until the nightmares are gone.

Then she backs away.

Love never takes. It only gives.

73.

Laura watches as Carmilla folds herself in a ball at the mention of Elle’s name and something in her chest hurts as Carmilla admits that Elle has never come to her in her dreams. 

Love has history.

Love comes with wounds. 

“Maybe she can’t get to you,” Laura says.

Love is not always made of poetry; sometimes it just gives what comfort it can. 

74.

When Laura and Laf decide to head to the library for a second time, they don’t ask Carmilla to come with them. They say their goodbyes to the camera, armed with bear spray and frying pans as Carmilla watches in the background. 

She comes anyway. 

75.

Carmilla reads Sumerian.

No-one would have blamed her if she said that she didn’t know how.

And yet.

75.

Laura doesn’t read Sumerian.

Yet she huddles up to Carmilla’s side like she’s trying to read the book as well. 

Love isn’t exactly logical.

76.

With a good night's sleep under her belt, Laura turns on the light and starts talking to the camera. She turns to Carmilla to include her in the conversation but all Carmilla gives a grumpy pout when Laura that Laura wakes her up.

She mutters “no” and rolls over, using the ancient book to cover her head.

Laura smiles.

77.

When Laf gets taken, Perry stomps into the room to hand out accusations with fear palpable on her tongue. Laura takes every word of it and, once Perry is asleep, starts to spiral into words of self guilt. 

Interrupting the flow of words, Carmilla won’t let her. 300 years is a long time to learn what guilt looks like.

One day, Laura will sit silently in a library with her guilt buzzing around her. 

One day, Carmilla will tell Laura that she’s guilty as Mattie cools on the ground beside her. 

One day, Carmilla will learn to forgive. 

Today, Carmilla simply stops the tide before it can take over. “Nothing that’s happening here is your fault,” Carmilla says.

Today, Laura listens. 

Love is built on belief the in words of the one you love.

78.

Love dances.

Love extends their hand and draws you close until the only thing you can feel is the person holding your hand. Until your chest and waist and hands are touching theirs. 

Love smiles and looks down like she’s just an 18 year old girl at a ball.

Love blushes like a girl at her first high school dance. 

Love twirls you around to set you free and brings you right back in when you thought you were about to separate. 

Love doesn’t let go of your hand even once the dancing has stopped.

79.

Carmilla takes the floor with nothing more than a “vampire constitution trumps back pain” and lets Laura have the bed. 

Smiling gallantly, love dares to suggest that perhaps they could have shared. 

Apparently, we’re not quite there yet.

80.

Sometimes, love can only be ignored for so long and even Laura Hollis can’t do denial forever. So she accepts the first cracks in the door to her heart.

“Worst. Crush. Ever.”

Love will take it.

81.

Carmilla leaps in front of Laura when an unknown voice enters the room. It turns out to just be Lafontaine but still. 

She jumped.

82.

Like the evil minion she once was, Carmilla passes judgement on her fellow minions for not taking Laf’s phone away when they were captured. After all, what self respecting kidnapper lets a recording device into their evil lair. 

Laura just nudges her.

“Good job you.”

Love is a work in progress. Evil minion tendencies aren’t undone in a day, if at all.

One day, Carmilla will try to undo herself at the nudge of Laura’s elbow.

One day, Laura will learn that people cannot be undone.

83.

Sometimes I love you is said with the wrong series of words. 

“I could get it.”

When Laura finds an underwater sword that could smite the dean but is inaccessible to humans. Carmilla volunteers to get it in a heartbeat. She shrugs it off like it’s nothing. 

84.

Still shrugging, Carmilla adds, “My mother fed the only person I cared about to a monster and maybe i don’t feel like letting it happen again.”

Again.

I care is the start of an I love you.

85.

Laura’s eyes reflect none of Laura as the Dean stares out of them into Carmilla’s face with her offer of a deal. Beside her, Kirsch sits calmly and completely unaware that his life is on the line. In front of her stands Laura, body-jacked by her mother who is using Laura’s mouth to say all of the wrong words. 

Carmilla has to make a choice.

There is no right answer for love to make. 

She can sacrifice Laura or sacrifice Kirsh. Save laura and have her hate Carmilla or doom her and do what Laura would want.

There is no right answer but that doesn’t mean it’s not an easy choice. 

Carmilla chooses Laura.

86.

Love looks broken as she waits for Laura to figure out that she did everything wrong. 

Carmilla would make that choice every time. 

87.

Laura trusts Carmilla to get the sword, excited to start on their plan.

88.

All Carmilla has to do is keep Laura safe. 

There are bigger monsters out there than Carmilla. 

But Laura refuses.

Love is funny like that.

89.

Laura kisses Carmilla on the cheek as she rushes from the room. 

A first kiss. 

Love fights the urge to throw-up. It’s nothing like everything it imagined. 

90.

Laura knows. 

Carmilla stands and takes her rage. 

She took notes. Love knows that arguing with Laura will not help her case, will not change a single thing. She knows Laura’s anger is deserved. So Carmilla stands and listens as Laura break-up with another girl she is not dating. Her face flashes from anger to hurt to sadness to quiet resignation. 

“Go run and hide,” Laura says, “We’re done.”

Love just wanted to keep Laura alive. 

She’s failed at even that.

91.

She does what Laura wants. Carmilla runs and hides. 

Love hurts.

Love always hurts. Tonight it’s Carmilla fleeing from a room while Laura looks a camera and swallows her feelings. Tonight, they do not know what foreshadowing means. 

One day, Carmilla will walk out instead of flee. 

One day, Laura will continue swallowing her feelings. 

One day, Laura will cry and let them out.

One day, Carmilla will come back. 

Tonight though, tonight it just hurts. The promise of everything they never had sitting in the broken ribs of love’s chest. 

92.

Laura will not be saved from the biggest monsters. 

Before she goes out to try and stop the dean, all she can do is look at camera and say, “Carmilla. You know.”

Sometimes love is two words. Sometimes love is a last goodbye. Sometimes love knows exactly what you mean even when the words are wrong. Sometimes love is nothing more than the hope that someone will remember you.

93.

Laura goes. She goes for the trapped girls. She goes for Laf. She goes for morals and righteousness and goodness. 

She also goes for Carmilla.

94.

Carmilla comes back. She sits in front of a screen and takes the time to watch what Laura’s been up to. 

Love is going. Love is staying. 

95.

Carmilla gets the sword.

96.

Carmilla dies.

Laura lives. 

That had been Carmilla’s goal anyway. 

97.

Love doesn’t die because the person who you felt it for died. 

Love lingers.

98.

Laura wraps herself up in a blanket and the only words she can force off her tongue are the ones that tell of Carmilla’s last moments. Her last seconds. Her heroic sacrifice. 

Nothing else matters to love. 

Carmilla is dead. Carmilla is dead. Carmilla is dead. 

Everything hurts and Carmilla is dead. Tonight is the greatest hurt that Laura’s ever felt as love beats on in her chest without anyone else to receive its rhythm. She doesn’t know that she will never feel a hurt that’s greater. She doesn’t know that this feeling will change everything. 

One day, Laura will break up with a girl who is actually her girlfriend and it will rip her heart in two. But it will not hurt like this because Carmilla will still be alive. 

One day, Laura will be responsible for the death of hundreds and she will shoulder every piece of blame. But it will not hurt like this because Carmilla will still be alive. 

One day, Laura will watch a man try to cut off Carmilla’s head. One day, Laura will kill him. 

Because tonight Laura knows what it feels like to have Carmilla dead and she will find herself willing to do anything to keep that feeling from emerging again. 

One day, Laura will be numb with guilt but it will not hurt like this because Carmilla will let Laura bury away in her arms as a broken library flickers around them. 

Tonight, Carmilla is dead. 

Love hurts.

99.

Love hurts until the moment that Carmilla is carried through the door then love jumps forward, suddenly alive and moving faster than it has in days. 

Hope. 

You know. 

100.

Carmilla is alive. 

She is back in Laura’s room and all she says is “hey.”

“Hey,” is said back.

Love leaps. It talks and laughs and giggles and it doesn’t step back when everything moves closer. Sometimes, love has a moment where it starts to be acknowledged. So they kiss. 

They kiss until it doesn’t work because there are too many smiles. It’s not big or romantic or passionate. 

It just is. Smiles and giggles and blurted sentences and all. With one smile, love is back on track and waiting just around the corner. It waits to put down the next brick in it’s path. 

Falling in love has never required profound origins, rather, it makes the simplest origins profound.

After all, love has always been made in moments.

**Author's Note:**

> Despite how tired I am, I'm always still so amazed by the time you all take to write me comments and give kudos and do [ tumblr stop-ins ](http://ariabauer.tumblr.com/). You're what keeps me writing as we work our way through the end of this. Trust me. Even on the sleepiest night or angiest moment, they never fail to make me smile and provide valuable feedback. all my love cupcakes. 
> 
> This is the twenty-third story of '30 Days of Cupcake' where I'll be posting a unique Carmilla fanfic every weekday for 30 days. Stay stupendous. Aria.


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